Taiwan to help Nicaragua with port and irrigation plan

MANAGUA: Taiwan said Wednesday it would provide technical assistance to Nicaragua as the Central American nation works to develop a drought-fighting irrigation system and build a Caribbean port. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou, who arrived in the country earlier in the day, said his Nicaraguan counterpart Daniel Ortega had requested help with a feasibility study for an agricultural irrigation plan. Agricultural production accounts for 18 percent of Nicaragua’s GDP, with some 60 percent of that falling in the hands of small and medium-scale farmers. Taiwan will also analyze the feasibility of constructing a port off Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, Ma said. Nicaragua is one of a limited number of countries that have relations with Taiwan, which is regarded by Beijing as Chinese territory.